Menu

Mattress Mary Dreams Big

Believe it or not, we spend a third of our lives sleeping. I know I definitely do! I have to pull myself from my king mattress and duvet most mornings!!

Getting a good night’s sleep is essential to staying happy and healthy. Another thing that is important to staying healthy when you go to sleep is making sure that your mattress is clean, that’s why you should Vacuum all parts of the mattress and wash your bedding.

While some of us may already know this, we’re often hesitant about spending a lot on a mattress; a good mattress will cost you a fair amount of money. However, the extra money spent on a quality mattress will not only, in the long run save you from exorbitant healthcare costs down the road, but it will make you a happier person as well. A top quality mattress can help reduce and even prevent you from suffering back pain, and there are even specically designed mattresses for back pain that can be bought.

if your mattress has seen better days and you aren’t sleeping on a supportive base, it can lead to sleepless nights and achy mornings. New mattresses can cost anything from a few hundred dollars to thousands, so you’ll want to make sure your chosen mattress is worth the investment.

There are some who believe that it doesn’t matter what you sleep on, so long as it is rectangular and cushy. This isn’t true, there are actually needs that a cheap mattress set just isn’t going to meet.

Mary Domito knows the ins and outs of the world of mattresses better than anyone I know. She’s not called “Mattress Mary” for nothing!

When Mary arrived in Taos a little over a decade ago to visit a friend, she immediately fell in love with the place. She returned the following year, and then in 2004, she moved here from the San Francisco Bay Area, and hasn’t looked back.

“When I moved here, I put down everything I owned to open my first store,” she said.

“Back then, there were four mattress stores in Taos”, she told me, “but none of them was a professional sleep shop.”

Having sold mattresses for years, Mary saw a niche market for herself.

For the first year, only Mary and her delivery driver worked at Sleep Sanctuary, but the business kept growing. Sleep Sanctuary, her first store eventually morphed into Taos Lifestyle.

“At Taos Lifestyle, we have strong brands that give you great quality for your money, like Serta and Tempur-Pedic, and we serve the needs of this community,” Mary explained, “and now we doing the same for Alamosa.”

In 2015, she opened a second store, Alamosa Home, in Colorado

“The store in Alamosa is very much based on the Taos model,” Mary says. “And it is also doing very well.”

Going back and forth between Taos and Alamosa, where Mary and her husband have restored an old craftsman bungalow, seemed to be all she had ever dreamed of. She had two successful stores, her annual Dog Days event (that benefits the animal shelter), which allows her to indulge her love of music as well as her natural entrepreneurial bent.

But then she got the call from her favourite mattress rep Sharon Scott, who had just been laid off from her job at a major mattress company, due to downsizing. Mary jumped at the opportunity to grow her company and take it a step further. Into the world of luxury mattresses. Mattresses with lifetime guarantees.

“Bespoke, made by hand with sustainable, natural materials.” She explained. “Mattresses that last a lifetime.”

Mattresses that cost a fortune?

“Yes, but consider how much time we spend in bed.” She responded. “The cost per use is pennies.”

Mary and her new business partner Sharon Scott own and run, Sleep & Dream, a luxury bed store in Santa Fe.

Mary says of the Santa Fe venture, that it’s “a completely different business model.”

Having opened it with a former colleague and longtime manufacturer representative for Serta, added to the cache’ of the service they provide. Between them, they have more than 40 years in the mattress industry. They know their stuff – literally inside and out.

Mary talked to me about the workmanship that goes into a high-end, luxury bed. “Some of the makers are family owned businesses who have been doing this for hundreds of years.” She explained.

“I wanted to have a place for people who are looking for very high-quality mattresses and excellent customer service,” she said. “Our mission is to offer something to those who wanted the next level and we have in Santa Fe is a truly exceptional collection of luxury mattress and accessories.”

Although there were already several mattress stores in Santa Fe, Mary was not deterred.

“If you go to a big city where there are five Macy’s, why wouldn’t you open a Nordstrom?” she asked. “There is still a percentage of the population that is not being served.”

They don’t plan to stop in Santa Fe.

“Once we get this store off the ground, our next market is Texas,” Mary told me. “We have created the blueprint for a unique business model and we want to take it to other. larger markets around the country”

“We are not competing with the big chains,” Mary said. “We are our own thing – a small, unique mattress store; a mattress boutique!”Overstating the importance of a good night’s sleep is hard. Sleep affects your mental, physical, and emotional health more than any other activity in your life. The way you feel when you wake up in the morning can set the tone for your whole day. If you’re sleeping poorly on a regular basis, you’re setting yourself up for a major life rut!

That’s why it’s so important to have the right mattress. We all have slightly different bodies, with different quirks and idiosyncrasies. We require a different balance between cushion and support to ensure a good night’s sleep without exacerbating any of our ongoing health problems.

There are hundreds of models available and dozens upon dozens of manufacturers. When you see similar mattresses available from $300-$3000, it can be extremely tricky to find out how much of that price difference is quality, and how much is brand name inflation.

If your budget is less than luxe, rest assured Mary and her team can direct you to the best quality bed you can afford. Regular mattresses require changing out every seven years or so, but a bespoke mattress like the ones available at Sleep & Dream, will last forever. Maybe more cost-effective and sustainable in the long run, not to mention a lifetime of sweet dreams!

Sleep & Dream Luxury Bed Store is located at 510 West Cordova Road in Santa Fe.

For much more information about Mary Domito and her stores, please visit her sites linked below.